Over the past decades, the development of knowledge-based and innovation-led economy has gained the attention of higher education (HE) institutions. The Quadruple Helix Model of the relations amongst universities, industries, government and society provides a general framework for systematically investigating the dynamics of innovation amongst these agents. However, knowledge about their influence on cross-boundary cities is limited. The ways in which HE institutions bridge different innovation systems also remain unknown. This study thus examines the innovation systems of two neighbouring cities along the border, namely, Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and their multidirectional innovation cooperation. Research findings suggest that the two innovation systems differ in terms of the unequal role of the agents. The systems seem mutually complementary in terms of HE capacity and industrial composition, and cross-boundary cooperation in HE sectors currently occurs through various means. This study sheds light on the development of and cooperation between cross-border innovation systems. Copyright ©Routledge.

Set against broader theoretical debates regarding the role of the developmental state in driving social and economic developments in Asia, particularly in higher education and research, the present article critically examines the synergies between government, enterprise and universities in China, in promoting innovation-centric entrepreneurship. The example of Shenzhen, China, including its response to the Greater Bay Area initiative, highlights how new governance modalities have emerged to embrace multiple actors and diverse non-state/non-government sectors in support of innovation-centric entrepreneurial ventures. Our analysis reveals new forms of network governance. These include hybrid organisations that have become more proactively engaged in fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship, including in the higher education sector, albeit against a backdrop of tensions in the mainland governance model, between the drive for innovation and re-assertion of Party control. Copyright © 2019 Association for Tertiary Education Management and the LH Martin Institute for Tertiary Education Leadership and Management.